Grant Books

Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (7/06)

Julia Pitkin, Karen Grant and George Grant, combined their talents to create this one of a kind cookbook. There are four divisions in this book, one representing each season. Each season is divided into special occasions; each occasion has appropriate table graces and menus, with recipes for each menu. It is the best of many cultures and their many holidays the authors remind us of what the term "fine dining" truly means.

Currently I'm assisting my future daughter-in-law in planning her wedding reception. This book has been extremely helpful. The Cucumber Mint Butter Sandwiches will definitely be on the menu, as will several other recipes.

Several of the recipes took me down memory lane. The Old Fashioned Lemonade reminded me of summers at my grandmother's. She'd gather the whole family together for a reunion. There would always be homemade banana ice cream and lemonade made with real lemons. The Roast Chicken with rosemary, thyme, oregano and other spices brought back the memories of dinners with a favorite aunt. I can still recall the smell of roasting chicken greeting me when entering her home.

We live in a hurry up world, where we look for the fastest way of completing everything and anything. Rarely do we realize that we've lost much. We no longer have the taste of real lemons; instead we open a can, measure out powder and add water. Rarely do we take time to make our own bread, it's easier to open a can or a bag. But the feel of kneading bread relieves stress and homemade bread always tastes better.

The menus and recipes in this book are good. But this book is so much more. This book is about elegant dining. I picture white table linens and silver candleholders. I picture families sitting down together to enjoy the meal. I send many thanks to the authors for creating this great book.

anyone interested in the bloomsbury group - vanessa bell & duncan grant should definitely add it to their collection

I am an avid reader and a lover of mystery stories. Body in the Baptistery: A Gideon Grant Mystery, has lots of twists and turns that keeps you guessing until the very end. It is a very well written book, and a real page turner. It was an easy read that I could not put down until the very end. I am also a Christian, and I appreciated the way that it included Christian themes and principles throughout. It is written in such a way that it would not offend nonbelievers or people of other faiths, but would give them some things to think about. I am waiting with great expectations for the next in the series of Gideon Grant mysteries.

Full of humor and glee, just an excellent work all around. Well done.

The author presents a history of sailing ships through illustrations and descriptions that span 2-3 pages. He breaks the subject matter between long ships and round ships and presents the ships in chronological order from ancient galleys to clippers.

The content of the description seems to be drawn from personal experience, where possible, and various research sources. The author does use a lot of naval terminology for rigging and ship structure that may leave the young or unversed in the dark. The real glory of the book is not, however, the entertaining prose, but the drawings of the ships. The art ranges from mostly black ink renderings of the ships to a few water colors (at least in my hardcover copy) that are simply beautiful pieces.

If you are lucky enough to find a decent early copy (like my 1924 copy) jump on it. Or, if you are interested in seeing what various sailing ships looked like, any copy will do.
P-)

The author presents a history of sailing ships through illustrations and descriptions that span 2-3 pages. He breaks the subject matter between long ships and round ships and presents the ships in chronological order from ancient galleys to clippers.

The content of the description seems to be drawn from personal experience, where possible, and various research sources. The author does use a lot of naval terminology for rigging and ship structure that may leave the young or unversed in the dark. The real glory of the book is not, however, the entertaining prose, but the drawings of the ships. The art ranges from mostly black ink renderings of the ships to a few water colors (at least in my hardcover copy) that are simply beautiful pieces.

If you are lucky enough to find a decent early copy (like my 1924 copy) jump on it. Or, if you are interested in seeing what various sailing ships looked like, any copy will do.
P-)

The Borderlands: An Encyclopedia of Culture and Politics on the U.S.-Mexico Divide, edited by Andrew G. Wood, is a reference gem for anyone professionally or personally interested in the border. Covering "the border" in the broadest sense, including the northern colonial frontier of New Spain and the contemporary states of Mexico and the United States that abut the border, The Borderlands encyclopedia is a massive undertaking and wealth of information. The 300 pages of topics expertly covered by 151 different authors include names, places, and events relating to culture, politics, economics, art, and literature, as well as phenomena particular to the borderlands, such as maquiladoras, agribusiness, and cuisine. A detailed four-page chronology is provided as is a 250+ source bibliography. For teachers, students, scholars, and historical aficionados of `Mexamerica', this encyclopedia is a must.

Borrowing To Build Your Business: Getting Your Banker To Say "Yes" by small business advisor George M. Dawson (University of Texas at San Antonio Small Business Development Center) is a straightforward, "reader friendly" guide to convincing any bank loan officer to solidly back an entrepreneurial or corporate enterprise. From selecting the best possible banker, to being aware of the pressures on banks and bankers, to the test of the five big C's (Character, Capacity, Condition, Collateral, and Capital), Borrowing To Build Your Business is a first-rate and highly recommended primer of solid, basic, practical advice that every business owner should know before seeking to secure financial assistance from a lending institution.

From Nova Scotia south to Florida, the British Crown awarded land to approximately 6,500 soldiers and sailors for service in the various colonial wars. Grants of land were generally made on the basis of rank, with veterans from colonies with no vacant lands sometimes taking up land in other colonies; certain Massachusetts soldiers receiving grants of land in Virginia, for example; or Virginia militiamen drawing land in Kentucky. Land grants provide the clues for such migrations, while other grants sometimes reveal group migrations from coastal settlements into the interior of the country.

All 6,500 soldiers known to have received land grants for their participation in the numerous conflicts with the French and their Indian allies, as well as in various colonial insurrections, are listed here with details of their place and dates of service, rank, military campaigns, location of bounty land grants and donation land grants, acreage, and, most importantly, assignment of title to heirs, relatives, and friends.

Generally speaking, bounty land grants were offered as an inducement to perform military service while donation land grants were awarded to a veteran or his heirs as a reward for service once the conflict was over. Not always altruistic, grants of land were sometimes made to establish buffers on the frontier between Indians and European settlers or to alleviate population pressures on coastal settlements.

Typical entries in this authoritative work look like this:

* Abbet, Thomas. He served in the Narraganset War from Wenham, Massachusetts. His son, Thomas Abbet, received his land in Amherst, New Hampshire in 1734.
* Dever, William. He served in the French and Indian War from Virginia under Col. William Byrd. His heir, Edward Dever, received the warrant for 50 acres 19 October 1779.
* Watts, John. He was granted 200 acres in Charlotte County, New York for his service as a noncommissioned officer of the 48th Regiment of Foot in the French and Indian War 26 May 1772.

Grant Williams has established himself as a writer to watch with his very first novel. You can feel the experience and stories of his youth come to life.